No Link for No Mercy

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THQ's WWF game goes it alone without Transfer Pak support between the N64 and GBC wrestling games.

By IGN Staff

All those who have been wondering exactly what that secret option that might be unlocked between the N64 WWF No Mercy and Game Boy Color WWF No Mercy versions of the game through the planned Transfer Pak compatibility can now set aside that curiosity. THQ has unfortunately sealed up that feature and thrown away the key with the canceling of the handheld version of the game.

Before all of us wrastlin' fans throw a chair at THQ for breaking the Transfer Pak compatibility, you might want to know that the news isn't all bad. The design specs for No Mercy (dating back to E3) called for a link between the Game Boy Color game and the N64 game to unlock hidden secrets in one or the other game using the Transfer Pak (similar to the extra features in Pokémon Stadium). That compatibility was removed from both projects at some point of development, so any secret presumably unlockable with the Transfer Pak was likely woven into the regular season mode.

No code for Transfer Pak compatibility still exists in the final versions of No Mercy, but very few gamers were even aware that the feature ever existed, so while the extra secrets would have been a nice bonus for those with both games, not many will miss it. THQ did not list the Transfer Pak compatibility on the No Mercy box, nor did they mention it in their ads.

Then, there's the fact that Game Boy wrestling games, even the big WWF titles, have a history of sucking royally. It's a blow to see the handheld version of No Mercy go (THQ is instead working on a killer WWF action fighting game similar to Streets of Rage, with a full-blown true WWF pro wrestling version on the Game Boy Advance), but if history was destined to repeat itself, the canceled No Mercy GBC was a mercy killing, and it saved N64 gamers $30 bucks on a bum game.